TACOMA BAPTIST HEATING UP

Tacoma Baptist senior guard Joey Pascua beats his defender and soars to the basket for two. Photo by Rocky Ross

Sophomore guard Jeremiah Lynn goes up for two. Photo by Rocky Ross

Co-captain Kyongjin So goes to the rack with his left. Photo by Rocky Ross

Senior PJ Talen is all intensity after ripping down a rebound. Photo by Rocky Ross

Logan Kitselman may only be 6'1", but the junior can mix it up in the paint for the Crusaders. Photo by Rocky Ross

As a 1B school, Tacoma Baptist is able to draw from their eighth grade, if needed, to augment their varsity lineup. While it's been the usual for several small schools around the state, it's new ground for the Crusaders. Eighth-grade guard Bradley Swillie has turned into a force for the Crusaders. Standing at 6'2", the newcomer has been blowing by defenders, sticking the jump shot and setting up his teammates for a multitude of scoring chances. With the postseason now in full swing, Swillie could very well be the "x-factor" for the Crusaders' chances at making it to the 1B Hardwood Classic at the Spokane Coliseum. Photo by Rocky Ross

The champions of the Sea-Tac League’s West division, Tacoma Baptist demolished Quilcene 95-25 to begin Sea-Tac League Tournament play on Saturday, Feb. 3. Two nights later, the Crusaders turned away Puget Sound Adventist by a score of 68-52 to secure a spot in the Sea-Tac League tournament championship.

Up next would be a rematch with the Sea-Tac League East champions from Muckleshoot Tribal. In their earlier meeting a month ago, Muckleshoot had a field day against Tacoma Baptist, topping the Crusaders by a score of 114-55. The rematch would proved to be much closer, as the Crusaders led by 10 points at the half, only to give way later in the game and fall 67-62.

Muckleshoot (21-2) is the second-ranked 1B team in the current RPI standings. Tacoma Baptist (19-3) is ranked ninth. Tacoma Baptist will now move on to the Tri-District tournament where they are assured of a home game to open tourney play on Saturday, Feb. 10, when they will host either Lummi (13-8) or Grace Academy (10-9).

The Tri-District tournament send six seeds to the state regional round of 16.